Childish Gambino's "This Is America" is the World's N.1 Single!

Posted on May 20, 2018

"This Is America" by American Rapper, Actor & DJ, Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) tops this week's global Track Chart! The Song debuted at N°1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with 78,000 downloads sold and 65.3 million US streams in its 1st week, and is Gambino's first N°1 and Top 10 single nationally. It also debuted at N°1 in Canada, New Zealand and Australia and is Top 10 in Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the UK!

The song features a gospel-style choir and background vocals from Rappers Young Thug, Slim Jxmmi, Blocboy JB, 21 Savage and Quavo. The lyrics primarily address gun violence in America, police brutality and racism.

The music video, directed by Hiro Murai, went viral, garnering 12.9 million views in 24 hours, and has over 150 million views. It begins with Gambino dancing through a warehouse, then shooting a man in the back of the head with a handgun. Later in the video he guns down a whole church choir for no reason, referencing the 2015 Charleston church shooting. In both instances, a child appears from offscreen holding a red cloth, on which Gambino lays the weapon, which viewers have interpreted "as a reference to Americans' willingness to protect gun rights over people". The first shooting also marks a transition in the music, from an African "folk-inspired melody" to a "dark, pulsing trap." SZA makes a cameo appearance towards the end of the video. The video ends with Gambino running for his life as white people chase him.